Lyons is no match for Fox

First, Fox broadcasters Steve Lyons and Thom Brennaman are taken to task for having a little fun with some guy in the stands wearing what looked to be super-duper X-Ray Specs. How were they supposed to know that, surrounded by fans with their faces painted, donning clown wigs and all other celebratory fashion statements, he was virtually blind and his headgear enabled him to see?

But it doesn’t end there.

Some politically correct Fox bigwig decided in a knee-jerk decision that Lyons’ harmless little wallet comment to Lou Piniella was racist. Man, I love Lou Piniella and of course his surname is Latino, but over the past quarter of a century I’ve thought of Lou Piniella as Latino as much as I’ve thought that the Icelandic cod and Alaskan king crab in my freezer are favorite Mexican dishes.

If that’s politically incorrect, too bad. I’m willing to bet that most baseball fans who know Piniella feel as I do.

STEVE SMITH

Temple City

*

The vast majority of commercials aired by Fox during sporting events make fun of white males, portraying them as fools and buffoons. Is this the same network that fired Steve Lyons for “insensitive ethnic comments”?

While I won’t miss Mr. Lyons -- he is a terrible announcer -- his forced departure reeks of the hypocrisy that surrounds most politically correct actions. Certain groups can be offended, certain groups can’t.

MICHAEL HELWIG

Canoga Park

*

I heard Steve Lyons on the air and also read his comments in an effort to find where the racism was, and I still can’t see anything he said as offensive or racist against Hispanics, and I’m Mexican American.

Steve Lyons is a great color analyst and I love the way he analyzes things in an intelligent manner as a baseball man, and also the way he makes it fun.

JORGE AVELAR

Los Angeles

*

The Dodgers’ retention of Steve Lyons proves that you can be an insensitive jerk and still find gainful employment in Dodgertown these days.

Too bad Ross Porter didn’t crack racist jokes on the air. I’m sure he’d still be on the McCourts’ payroll, if only he’d dumped that tired gentleman-and-scholar routine.

BONNIE SLOANE

Los Angeles

*

Memo to Fox Sports head honcho Ed Goren: Can’t you please put a gag on Tim McCarver for the World Series?

This guy -- who really believes it was he, not Abner Doubleday, who invented baseball -- never stops yakking, which blunts the efforts of one of the country’s best play-by-play guys, Joe Buck.

McCarver tries to spin what will or will not happen into a monotonous rant, which usually comes up empty.

STU NAHAN

Studio City